Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, job management server and control method thereof, job processing apparatus and control method thereof, and non-transitory computer-readable medium.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a peripheral apparatus control system, which connects peripheral apparatuses to an information processing apparatus by utilizing various interfaces such as USB, Ethernet®, and a wireless LAN, is effectively used in various sites such as home and an office. As examples of peripheral apparatuses, a printer, copying machine, facsimile, scanner, digital camera, MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) thereof, and the like are known.
To a printer and MFP of these peripheral apparatuses, for example, Google Inc. provides a cloud printing service called Google Cloud Print® (to be abbreviated as “GCP” hereinafter) utilizing the Internet. Using the cloud printing service, the user can launch (utilize) a document creation application (Web application) or the like using a Web browser installed in a personal computer (to be abbreviated as “PC” hereinafter) or mobile terminal, and can print a document using the printer or MFP.
Some advanced MFPs incorporate a Web browser. During an operation of a Web browser of an MFP by a certain user, that MFP can simultaneously execute print processing of a print job which is issued by another user from a PC or mobile terminal to the MFP while executing parallel processing in the background. Likewise, during an operation of a Web browser of an MFP by a certain user, when another user scans an original using that MFP from a PC, mobile terminal, or the like, the MFP can simultaneously scan the original while executing processing related to the Web browser. The user can launch (utilize) a document creation Web application using the Web browser incorporated in such MFP without using the PC or mobile terminal and can print a document using the MFP via the Internet. Also, the user can scan an original using the MFP while operating the Web browser incorporated in that MFP, and can upload an obtained scan image onto an image storage Web service or the like via the Internet.
In case of the scan, as another technique especially related to exclusive control of a job, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-267701 is known. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-267701 starts exclusive control which is executed not to accept any scan-related requests from terminal apparatuses other than that of a distribution destination before a scan-related request is accepted, and ends the exclusive control after scanned scan data is distributed to the terminal apparatus of the distribution destination.
A case will be examined below wherein the control system utilizing the aforementioned advanced MFP is broken down to that utilizing a low-end (that is, low-function) MFP. For example, some low-end MFPs incorporate a Web browser. Such low-end MFP includes a low-speed CPU, small-capacity memory (RAM), and the like, and often does not include a sufficient storage area. For this reason, due to insufficient hardware resource, during an operation of a Web browser of the MFP by a certain user, the MFP cannot simultaneously execute print processing of a print job which is issued by another user from a PC, mobile terminal, or the like. Also, during an operation of the Web browser of the MFP by a certain user, even when another user wants to scan an original using the MFP from a PC, mobile terminal, or the like, the MFP cannot scan that original.
A case will be examined below wherein print processing is executed using a low-end MFP, which cannot simultaneously execute print processing while executing parallel processing in the background. When a certain user launches a Web browser of the low-end MFP, and operates a document creation application or the like, that user occupies that MFP. The operability of the user when the user operates the document creation application or the like, and wants to execute print processing using the MFP will be examined. In this case, it is desired that immediately after the user makes a print start operation, a print job issued by the print start operation is immediately executed by that MFP without being interrupted by an external print job issued from another PC or the like.
A case will be examined below wherein, for example, when a certain user (user A) launches a Web browser of the MFP and operates a document creation application, another user (user B) launches a Web browser of a PC and operates a document creation application to execute print processing of documents of 100 pages. In this case, the document creation application issues a print job of the user B to the MFP. However, since the user A is using the Web browser at this MFP, print processing of the print job of the user B is not executed at this time. After that, when the user A operates the document creation application to execute print processing of documents of 3 pages, the document creation application issues a print job of the user A to the MFP. Then, after the user A closes the Web browser, the MFP starts print processing for the issued print job. However, when the MFP processes the print job of the user B issued earlier and executes print processing, the user has to wait until the print processing for 100 pages of the user B is complete. Then, before the print processing for 100 pages of the user B is complete, the user A cannot obtain printed products of his or her documents of 3 pages. In this manner, when the print job of the user A who operates the Web browser of the low-end MFP is interrupted by the print job issued by the user B by operating the Web browser, the operability drops considerably. The same applies to a scan job.
Furthermore, a case will be examined below wherein as for a job issued from each Web application by operating a Web browser of an MFP by a user, a server transmits that job notification to an MFP as a processing target. In this case, when excessive job notifications are transmitted, wasteful data communications are generated to increase the load on the server, a data volume on a communication channel increases, and higher communication cost is required according to the data traffic on the Internet. As a result, system building cost and service maintenance cost are increased.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the aforementioned problems, and, for example, in a low-end MFP prevents an interruption of a job issued from a PC or the like, and preferentially executes a job issued from an application when a user operates a Web browser of an MFP.